Articles and News

Business cannot function without language. Spoken and written, language is intrinsic to the success of a business; we use language to communicate, store and retrieve information, thoughts and ideas. Obvious perhaps, but it goes further than that; the way we use language says something about us as individuals and about the organisations we work in. [...]

It is no coincidence that students just beginning to learn to read are offered short, simple sentences of only two or three words each. This practice reflects the general understanding that the level of complexity inherent in a piece of writing will affect the reader’s ability to understand it.

The ability to write in an informative and authoritative manner is vital for businesses. The advent of such sites as Twitter with its 140-character limit, promotes writing that is immediate, brief, and somewhat informal. In this ‘Twitter Age’, much business writing has been influenced by this brevity, which can sometimes lead to cut corners and [...]

In the first of our Who uses Mind Maps® series, Richard Evans, Marketing Manager of Illumine looks at how marketers in large and small organisations can use Mind Maps to make them more effective.
Larger businesses have a marketing team with formally qualified team members. Whereas most small businesses don’t and marketing can be an overwhelming concept. Whatever [...]

We all know how to think and learn, right? Not according to Clive Lewis, Director of Illumine, the training company that specialises in thinking, learning and creativity.
Being able to think, learn and work effectively used to be regarded as ‘nice to haves’. This perspective was often combined with the view that our ability to learn, [...]

Don’t be defensive minded; use smart thinking to underpin your career success. In this article we highlight five essential skills which can help you to stay on the front foot.

…but little use if you can’t get them across
How many managers and leaders with brilliant ideas fail to impress and inspire the people they are trying to reach? It’s a big problem — and not just for those who have to make stand-up presentations. It’s also a challenge for those who are trying hard to [...]

How much writing do you do in your job? Probably more than you think. But the problem is that hardly any of it gets read. Here Clive Lewis, MD of Illumine Training, outlines why we need to cut the bull and write far more persuasively.
Forget phone calls. Put aside face-to-face interactions. The truth is that [...]

Each year, the Plain English Campaign present awards for the best and worst examples of English. Their infamous ‘Golden Bull’ award injects some mischief, but has given us some great examples for you:
The following pieces of writing have all been awarded the Golden Bull by The Campaign for Plain English over the past few years:

Trilogy Telecom (an [...]

Are poor writing standards damaging business? In this article we look at the problems caused by inaccurate grammar and highlights a fast training solution.
If you want to know just how embarrassing and damaging it can be to make high profile gaffes with English then look no further than George Bush. As most of us know, [...]

3 Steps For Making Writing Easier
Planning – professional writers often spend twice the amount of time planning comparted to non-professional writers. It is key – it helps the writer gather all their ideas and information and it helps stimulate creative thinking. Mind Map your ideas – allows you to put all your various associated thoughts [...]